Air Force to Reimburse Barnegat For 2007 Forest Fire

The Air Force will pay more than $83,000 to a southern New Jersey town for expenses related to a 2007 Pinelands forest fire that burned 17,000 acres.

Barnegat officials say the township will be reimbursed for the costs of fighting the fire at the Warren Grove Gunnery Range, which started during practice by a flare from an F-16 fighter jet.

The township had sought $100,000 in a claim it submitted in 2008, but eventually was awarded $83,464.

Barnegat spent more on fire-related costs than any other community affected by the blaze. The town filed its claim separately from Ocean County and 23 other area municipalities, who collectively awarded more than $300,000.